P120
CN
III WHEELSPIN
BY KEITH DOWDLE
T
he greatest riders in the
world seem to possess
something—or lack some-
thing—that the rest of us just
don't. From MotoGP to super-
cross to off-road and enduro rac-
ing, even after the most horrific
crashes, sometimes involving
serious injury, as soon as they're
back on the bike, they're right
back to race speed. Everyone
who follows AMA Supercross
knows what Ken Roczen has
been through over the past few
years, but he's back and in the
hunt for a Supercross champion-
ship. Valentino Rossi has been
hurt so many times it's hard to
remember them all, but he's still
out there and always a threat to
win. Hell, one year at the Dayto-
na 200, the Honda team literally
had to carry Miguel Duhamel to
his bike because he was hurt so
bad that he couldn't walk—and
he won the race!
But how do they do it? Is it a
lack of fear or perhaps a lack of
self-preservation, or perhaps it's
something about their anatomy—
large attachments, one might
say. Of course, there's certainly
a level of talent and skill, but
there must be something more
because most of us mere mor-
tals slow way down after a bad
crash, and it often takes months
before we're fully back in the
groove.
Dave Despain and I were
having lunch once upon a time
with AMA Hall of Famer Scott
THE
PAIN
OF
LOSING
Like many
pros, Scott
Summers had
the knack not
to let injuries
get the best of
him during his
racing days.
